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Franklin-Grand Isle United Way Bridges to Well-Being 2009 Community Needs Assessment Franklin and Grand Isle Counties, Vermont Acknowledgements T he content of this report emerged from discussion with numerous individuals who work diligently every day to im- prove the health and welfare of residents in our region. Working at both the programmatic and policy levels, these contributors provided data and important insights , reviewed drafts of the report and provided invaluable feedback. Thank you to our colleagues and community leaders for helping to make this report as accurate and ac- cessible as possible. Be well; Susie Posner-Jones Community Impact Director, FGIUW Committee Chair 2009 Community Needs Assessment Committee Photo courtesy of David Juaire Judy Ashley-McLaughlin Joe Halko District Director Director of Community Relations Vermont Department of Health Northwestern Counseling & Support Services Jonathan Billings Janet McCarthy Director of Planning Executive Director and Community Service Franklin County Home Health Agency Northwestern Medical Center Pam McCarthy Noah Fishman Field Director Regional Planner Agency of Human Services Northwest Regional Planning Commission Terri O’Shea Interim Director/Board Member Cynthia Green Franklin Grand Isle United Way Regional Director Building Bright Futures Council Susie Posner-Jones—Chair Community Impact Director Franklin-Grand Isle United Way ii Franklin & Grand Isle Counties—Community Needs Assessment 2009 A Message from United Way Franklin-Grand Isle Karina Ware United Way Kathy Lavoie Executive Director Board President Summer 2009 It is the dawn of a new era in our community; one that presents us with unprecedented challenges and requires each of us to step up our resolve to address these priorities. The Franklin Grand Isle United Way is once again pleased to provide this community needs assessment, detailing our region’s demographics and needs. In addition, we have begun to transform this assessment to reflect and report on action being taken by our many partners around our most pressing local needs. As you read through this document, you will notice it is divided into impact areas within Franklin and Grand Isle Counties. As the United Way transitions strategically to an impact organization, we realize the need to reassess how to utilize community investment of people, dollars and alliances in the work that we do. This change in how we report community needs reflects that direction we as an organization must take to ensure a thriving, sustainable region. The “Parable of the River” tells a story of a village, similar to our own communities, needing to make a shift in focus and investment to get at the root cause of their villagers drowning. I encourage you to read and carry this story with you as you roam. Share it with your colleagues, neighbors, family and friends. This simple, yet riveting story, speaks to where we as a community must and will go. This document then leads you into the areas of Demographics, Immediate Needs (Shelter, Food, and Safety), Income, Education and Health. Within these areas you will see a snap shot of current statistics, data and a closer in-depth look at what we are doing about it. Also, Northwestern Medical Center, who previously was required to conduct a separate needs assessment, is now able to adopt this Community Needs Assessment to satisfy State requirements. This is another example of reducing duplication, increasing efficiencies, and enhancing our partnerships in our community. We urge you to use this document as a jumping point for data and assessing our most critical needs. You will find a comprehensive list of data sources, in the back of this document, to access for a more in depth picture. We have diligently worked to make this document as user- friendly as possible and to provide easy paths to go further in your research around a particular issue. Should you have questions or need further assistance with this document, we hope you will contact our local United Way at (802) 527-7418. It is together that we LIVE UNITED. Sincerely; Karina Ware Kathy Lavoie Executive Director United Way Board President Franklin & Grand Isle Counties—Community Needs Assessment 2009 iii Parable of the River O nce upon a time there was a small village on the edge of a river. The people were happy and life in the village was good. One day a villager noticed a person floating down the river and quickly dove in to save him. The next day, the villager noticed two people being swept down river, so he quickly plunged into the water and pulled both struggling victims to safety. The following day there were three people caught in the current. Not able to save them alone, the courageous bystander sought the help of other villagers. The next day even more people needed saving from the turbulent river, and even more villagers were called to join the rescue efforts. Soon the river was full of drowning people. The villagers organized themselves quickly, setting up watchtowers and training rescue teams who could resist the swift waters. Yet each day the number of victims struggling against the river increased. The villagers worked efficiently, and together they saved many lives. While they felt they were doing a good job, they could not save all the victims. Finally someone raised a question, asking “where are all these people coming from? We should go upstream to find out what’s causing these people to fall into the current in the first place!” The seeming logic of the community elders countered: “And if we go upstream who will perform the rescue operations? We need every villager here!” “But don’t you see,” cried the one lone voice, “if we find out how they’re falling into the river we can stop the problem and no one will drown! By going upstream we can remove the cause!” Clearly, we need to work together to rescue people who are caught in the river’s current. But we must also strive, as a community, to look upstream and focus on the reasons why people are falling into the river to begin with. ~Author Unknown iv Franklin & Grand Isle Counties—Community Needs Assessment 2009 About this Report . How to Use This Document Demographic Profile This report, in its entirety, covers dozens of issues of concern to the health and human service organizations in the area . This is not an ex- haustive list of every problem facing the region, but rather focuses on the areas the committee has highlighted at this time. Immediate Needs The reports are snapshots of enormously complex issues that provide quantitative and qualitative information designed to be easily ac- cessible to policy makers, advocates and community stakeholders. Please note that the data in this report ranges over several years. Health We used the most recent data available to us in compiling all sections. Each section includes: Education Critical statistics that identify the problem A narrative overview of the key issues A list of partner agencies and information that describes how they are Income applying best practices Making Connections The community cannot afford to address any one issue in isolation. Every problem leads to further conse- quences and shifts the cost of addressing these problems to other systems including schools, prisons and public assistance. For example: Delayed early social and emotional development can have a dramatic effect on economic and social success later in life. Unstable, low-quality child care prohibits parents from finding and maintaining employment and in- terferes with a child’s healthy development. 10 State Outcomes People living in poverty are forced to choose be- Families, youth and individuals are en- tween paying for rent, food, medicine, heat and gaged in and contribute to their commu- other basic needs. nity’s decisions and activities High rates of substance abuse directly correlate to Pregnant woman & young children thrive an increase in assaults, robberies and property Children are ready for school crimes. Promoting Solutions Children succeed in school Focus on individual and family strengths and ca- Children live in stable supported families pacities Youth choose healthy behaviors Address an array of needs and provide links to ap- Youth successfully transition to adult- propriate services hood Assist individuals to become independent and maintain their independence Adults lead healthy and productive lives Offer intensive services that produce long-term Elders/disabled live with dignity and in- change dependence Demonstrate collaboration and efficiency among Communities provide safety & support for service providers families Operate flexible program models that account for differences in individual consumers Franklin & Grand Isle Counties—Community Needs Assessment 2009 v Table of Contents Overview Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………………………………………...ii A Message from United Way………………………………………………………………………………………...iii Parable of the River …………………………………………………………………………………………………….iv About This Report………………………………………………………………………………………………………...v Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….1 Demographic Profile 3 Demographic Profile— Overview……………………………..…………………………………………….….…..3 Northwest Regional Plan Vision Statement…………………………………………………………………...6 Population Estimates by age group, household type, race……..…………………………..……..…..8 Franklin County Population Estimates by age group……………………………………………...……...9 Grand Isle County Population Estimates by age group…………………………………………..….....10 Population Projections by town…………………………………………….……………………………………..11

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